Al-Maliki calls on Iraqis to boost political process in speech marking religious holiday

Friday

Feb 29, 2008 at 12:15 AM

BAGHDAD — Iraq's prime minister declared Thursday that national reconciliation was moving forward despite the embarrassing collapse of a deal to hold provincial elections and a warning of possible escalating Shiite feuds over the failure.

JOHN AFFLECK

BAGHDAD — Iraq's prime minister declared Thursday that national reconciliation was moving forward despite the embarrassing collapse of a deal to hold provincial elections and a warning of possible escalating Shiite feuds over the failure.

It was a day of charged rhetoric — heightened by a flurry of political drama.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who is part of the nation's Shiite majority, spoke from one of the sect's holiest sites — the shrine of Imam Hussein, 50 miles south of Baghdad. The city is the centerpiece of Arbaeen, a commemoration that marks the end of the mourning period that follows the anniversary of Hussein's martyrdom in the seventh century. The holiday wound up Thursday.

A big, supportive crowd greeted al-Maliki. Some waved Iraqi flags as he gave a soaring assessment of national affairs in this war-weary country — tempered with an appeal to Shiites to continue participating in the political process.

"National reconciliation efforts have succeeded in Iraq and the Iraqis have once again become loving brothers," he said in a speech broadcast live on television. "We have ended the security instability and we have to chase al-Qaida elements in other places such as Mosul, Diyala and Kirkuk in order to finish the battle for good so that we can concentrate on the reconstruction phase."

The prime minister, who spent the past few days in London getting follow up medical tests after a previous heart exam, also acknowledged the need to move forward on political unification.

"I affirm the necessity of pushing the political process, boosting security and the economy and combating corruption," he said. "We should be united and keep away from personal interests in order to face the greater challenges and achieve final victory."

One of the greatest challenges right now is resurrecting a deal on provincial elections that would find support among Iraq's three main groups: Shiites, Sunni Arabs and Kurds. New elections are seen as step toward handing greater power to Iraq's varied regions and giving Sunnis a stronger political voice. Its collapse on Wednesday dashed hopes both in Baghdad and Washington.

The Bush administration backed it as one of 18 benchmarks to promote reconciliation.

Most of the benchmarks remain unmet. But the U.S. view is that — if compromises can ultimately be reached — the deals would stabilize Iraq and ultimately allow America to withdraw its troops.

Parliament approved the elections measure in a bundle with two others, the budget and a key amnesty bill, and then broke for a five-week vacation.

The budget and amnesty bills were then approved by the three-member presidential council, but the provincial law was rejected. The deal apparently fell apart because of a power struggle among Shiites, pitting the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council — the largest Shiite bloc and the party of Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi — against followers of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who controls the powerful Mahdi Army militia.

"We are suffering a new wave aimed at the destruction of a new Iraqi national law (that) could fracture the country's unity and replace it with laws based on sectarian and political motivations," Sadrist lawmaker Nassar al-Rubaie said.

He worried that Iraq was shifting from a period of sectarian violence to "a period of chaos and corruption."

The fate of the provincial election law is uncertain at best. Lawmakers do not even return until March 18, and it took them weeks to strike a deal last time. A legal adviser to parliament said that a simple majority will be enough to pass the measure again, but it also must go back to the presidential council for final approval.

Outside al-Maliki's speech — which did not specifically discuss the provincial elections measure — the streets were clogged with pilgrims.

Karbala provincial Gov. Aqil al-Khazali estimated that the main procession in Karbala drew some 9 million pilgrims, including 80,000 foreigners. The U.S. military has said 6 million pilgrims traveled in and out of the Karbala area for the holiday.

Religious festivals have a history of being targeted by insurgents, and the U.S. has blamed Sunni-led al-Qaida in Iraq for a flurry of attacks on worshippers that killed at least 64 people over the past week as they made their way to Karbala.

Police chief Raid Shakir Jawdat, commander of Karbala's security operations, said Thursday that a man with an explosive belt was arrested near a checkpoint outside the city.

Extremists "wanted to ignite civil war, but the Iraqis through their solidarity were able to end it forever," al-Maliki said. "They wanted to divide Iraq and the Iraqi people, but the awareness of the Iraqi people has foiled this plot."

In separate developments, Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said a date would be scheduled by March 15 for a fourth round of talks between Iran and the United States. Iraq has brokered the discussions.

U.S. and Iraqi officials also wound up a broad-ranging meeting on economic issues, with the two sides pledging cooperation in several areas, including banking reform and trade.

"This year is vital," Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh said. "2007 was a year for security achievements, but they will not stay in place without Iraq being able to make a quantitative leap in living standards."

The U.S. military said Thursday that troops killed an Iraqi civilian who raised suspicion and failed to heed warnings to stop as he approached their foot patrol north of Baghdad.

The man, who was wearing a bulky jacket and his hands in his pockets, was killed Wednesday in an area around Muqdadiyah, about 60 miles north of Baghdad, according to a statement.

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